Velocity variations of β Centauri
Abstract
This programme was undertaken because the preliminary observations of Beta Centauri with the Narrabri stellar interferometer (Hanbury Brown, Davis, Allen, and Rome) show that the correlation received is not consistent with that expected from a single star. The Lick Catalogue of Radial Velocities states that β Cen is a Bl II star. The Narrabri results are consistent with several models; in particular, it may be a double star with components of similar brightness, or it may have a very luminous, extended atmosphere or shell surrounding it. The latter possibility is perhaps unlikely on the spectroscopic evidence, as there are neither emission nor sharp absorption components in the spectral lines.
- Publication:
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Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia
- Pub Date:
- February 1968
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 1968PASA....1...82S